A non-profit group, Safe Kids USA, has done a research study and released a statement that most parents fail child car safety tests.  The study shows that only 30% are using the tether straps. Tether straps keep the tops of child seats and children’s heads secured in car crashes.  Also, many parents aren’t using the safest seats for their children’s ages.

Safe Kids reviewed 79,000 car seat checklists collected at inspection events the group held in 2009 and 2010.  They found out that there are a low percentage of people who know the proper usage of car seats. There needs to be more education.

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data, car crashes remain the leading cause of death for children ages 3 to 14.  The risk of death decrease by 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers due to the proper usage of the child safety seats.  Children are 59% less likely to be injured in a booster seat than if they were using seat belts only. Automobile accidents are deadly to children.

It is very important that parents and caregivers should know how to properly install and use the right seat for their child’s size and weight.   Kyle Johnson, Safe Kids spokesman says that many kids are moved out of the right seat for their age. This is common for children ages 7 or 8, who should have still been in booster seats.  Lack of public awareness is a contributing factor for most parents aren’t knowledgeable enough for the proper safety for their children.

The proper use of child restraints can save their life in a serious car accident.  Jeff Hamilton hit road debris and their car slid into a guardrail and spun across the highway before flipping over and landing upside down on rocks.  As emergency medical technicians saw how the car was crushed, they assume that any children inside would be dead.  Fortunately, Anne Hamilton has been trained to install child seats and had each of her three children in the best possible seat and position for their ages.  She’s convinced that the proper use of the child seats really did save the lives of her children.

Thousands of children are tragically injured and killed in car accidents each year.  Car accidents are the leading cause of death for children ages 1-13.  This could decrease if parents and those that take care of our children understood how car seats work and would familiarize the age and weight that a child must reach before he or she can be safely transitioned to the next car seat type or a seat belt.

This is why we have Child Passenger Safety Week every year.  The purpose is to increase awareness by educating parents and caregivers on this issue and to motivate others to ask for help and guidance on the proper way of correctly restraining their child in their car. This in and of itself will prevent serious child accident injuries in a car wreck.

A friend of mine, and Michigan accident attorney, Larry Buckfire, shared with me about a video produced by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute showing exactly what happens to a child left unrestrained. The crash test was conducted using two 33-pound crash test dummies in the rear seat of a vehicle. The dummies simulated 3-year-old children, one in a forward facing car seat and one is completely unrestrained.  A moderate-to-severe crash at about 30 miles per hour was simulated.  The unrestrained dummy launches forward into the front passenger seat before being thrown back into the seat while the dummy in the car seat was pulled back by the harness and seat belt.

Miriam Manary, a UMTRI senior engineering research associate said that “This test illustrates the significant difference between the two experiences.  The restrained child would likely walk away with minor bruises and scrapes while the unrestrained child would likely be killed or seriously injured.”

As parents, we should determine which restraint system is best suited to protect our children. Be educated you make the right choice and protect your child from a serious car accident.

In every day struggles to live in this world, there are car and truck accidents that none of us want to witness.  When there are accidents, I am thankful to those people who lend their helping hand.  These Kentuckians are heroes.  They are savers of lives.

Here in Kentucky, the Lexington Fire Department honors community heroes each year.  They usually announce the award at its annual awards banquet in the spring, but for this year they recognized three Kentucky citizens as heroes on July 02, 2011 during a news conference at the Lexington Government Center.  These three heroes had exceptional outstanding stories.  Anna Carlson, Erick Long and Chris Soulis all received Meritorious Citation Awards for saving lives during the summer.

Anna Carlson, a Lexington resident, stopped a man from bleeding whose arm was nearly severed in a car crash last July 4 at about 2:30 a.m. at Glenn Place and North Limestone by using her pajama bottoms.  She used to be licensed as a certified nursing assistant and knew she needed to stop the bleeding or the man would die.  Anna tied the pajama around the wound and kept pressure on it until the paramedics arrived to take over.  She never imagined she would save someone’s life while pantsless.

Ironically, on the same day Carlson saved a man’s life, Soulis also performed his heroic deed.  Chris pulled his neighbor, a barely conscious woman, from the window of a burning home at 268 East Louden Avenue.

A month earlier, on June 7, a 3-year-old boy named Keelan McClanahan, nearly drowned at a swimming pool at a home on Bridle Ridge Lane.  Eric Long was working on a sidewalk outside when he heard the sister of Keelan crying hysterically.  She was looking for someone who knew how to perform CPR.  Eric performed CPR on Keelan and was he was breathing normally by the time the ambulance arrived. This actions prevented a horrible child injury by drowning.

Each of these Kentuckians deserve a round of applause and praises for doing such heroic acts.  May their actions be an example to us to help others who are in trouble.  Who are heroes in your life?  I would be interested to know these stories. Your stories can also inspire others to do the extraordinary and safe a life if they are witness to a serious injury accident.

I witnessed a staged car crash last Friday in downtown Louisville! The Kentucky Justice Association put on a phenomenal seminar on Auto Damages which I had the privilege of going to. I normally don’t say that because seminars can be boring. Accident reconstruction experts Sonny Cease and Rob Miller planned and stage the car crash as part of the day long seminar.

I was taken by bus from the Marriot to a parking lot on River Road to watch a staged car crash. This was a lot more than a bunch of lawyers who were kids at heart crashing cars. The accident was set up to demonstrate the dynamics of a car accident, how to determine speed from the crush of the vehicles, how to obtain information from the black box ( all cars will be required to have this after 2010) , how to use that information obtained and how the occupant of the bullet vehicle reacted to the impact. This was a fascinating event to say the least. There were cameras and monitors set up every where. Cameras were on top of adjacent buildings and on the inside of the bullet car. The safety of the driver of the bullet car was a concern. A protective vest, gloves, helmet and knee pads were worn. This is not a job I would want, no matter how many precautions are taken. The Louisville Fire Department and the Louisville Metro Police Department were also on hand.

I have witnessed automobile accidents before. I have been in minor car accidents myself. I have been to the scene of many motor vehicle accidents. It is totally different when you know it is going to happen. The anticipation is odd. The violent nature of the impact was more severe than I imagined it would be. I was surprised when I found out the speed of the bullet vehicle at impact with the parked car was 27 mph. It seemed a whole lot faster. Needless to say, this experience has given me a new perspective on what accident victims go through. The violent nature of the crash is something you can not explain without being there. Check out the video I took and see for yourself.